Project Description

Much of the Wallowa River below Enterprise, Oregon has been moved, straightened & channelized to accommodate agriculture, the railroad and Highway 82.  In cooperation with the landowner the GRMW intends to restore 2000 feet of river channel over a 2,600 foot reach of the Wallowa River.  A variety of improvements will be implemented including installation of large woody debris and habitat structures, fish rocks, bio-engineered stream banks, riparian planting, side channel construction and channel re-meandering.  These improvements will benefit fish habitat, channel form and function, channel and floodplain interaction and riparian condition.  At completion the project area will be strategically managed with domestic livestock utilization to promote project objectives.

The goal of the project is to restore 2,000 lineal feet of the Wallowa River to a more historic and natural condition with functioning wetlands and floodplain, along with a stable stream channel.  Improving fish habitat and water quality is the primary focus of this project with the following objectives:

1.   Improve water quality and hydraulic complexity throughout this reach.
2.   Improve terrestrial and aquatic macro-invertebrate population composition.
3.   Increase use of the project reach by anadromous fish.
4.   Maintain streambank stability.
5.   Reconnect to the historic floodplain by increasing flooding frequency and depth on the floodplain.
6.   Provide sediment transport continuity throughout the project reach.

The project area is located in the Wallowa River subbasin (HUC 6 – 170601050302).  The legal description is Township 1 South, Range 44 East, Sections 29 and 32 W.M. and the study area is entirely contained within tax lot 4502.  The center of the project area is at latitude 45.4429°N and longitude -117.3463°W and elevation is approximately 3,580 feet above sea level.  The Wallowa River/6-Ranch Habitat Restoration project 2 will be implemented in Wallowa County, approximately 2.5 miles northwest of Enterprise, on the Wallowa River adjacent to State Highway 82.  

It is proposed that 1800-feet of new channel be constructed in the Wallowa River in the project reach with the new banks being embedded with wood structures and planted.  Areas relatively void of vegetation would also be planted and a side channel would be created in the portion of the existing river that would be abandoned.  An overall proposed site plan includes features such as an engineered log jam, woody debris and habitat structures, fish rocks, bioengineered stream banks, etc.

Limiting factors will be addressed at the project scale and partially addressed at the reach scale.  Limiting factors improved at the project scale include: 1) Woody debris, 2) Pool/riffle ratio, 3) Channelization, 4) Bank form, 5) Habitat diversity, and 6) Key habitat quantity. At the reach scale temperature and sediment/excess fine sediment will be improved.  Fish habitat, water quality, riparian condition, and floodplain characteristics are all resources that will be improved on the project site and contribute to incremental improvement at the reach scale.